Scott Taking On ‘Spartan Death Race’

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It has been thousands of years since the Spartan army battled the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae. But that doesn’t mean the way of the Spartan warriors is dead.

Waldron native Luke Scott is going to compete in the Spartan Death Race. It’s a grueling event that covers more than 50 miles and 60 hours. Needless to say, Scott’s skills will be put to the test.

“It all started when I was on YouTube and I was actually just looking for some music, kind of motivational to put on my workout play list,” Scott said. “I saw this video and it was these guys and they were running around doing burpees and carrying rocks and climbing down ropes and jumping over fire. I was like `man, what are these guys doing?`”

The video he saw came from the website www.youmaydie.com. Last year’s event saw 344 people register but only 51 finished. Only 14.8 percent were able to compete at the course in Pittsfield, VT.

“I told my wife and she was like you`re crazy,” Scott said. “You`ve never done anything like this. Death race by nature is just a grueling race. It`s not an ordinary race so there`s not an ordinary training regimen so you have to put yourself out in the elements and outside of your comfort zone just to get yourself where you need to be to kind of prepare for this race.”

Scott trains every evening after work by chopping wood, flipping ties and running with a backpack full of bricks. As he runs along the highway in Waldron, Scott definitely draws some attention.

“Nobody ever stops and asks,” Scott said. “I just get a lot of looks and I smile and wave because they think I'm an idiot.”